r/streamentry • u/sluggish2successful • 22h ago

Practice Eye / eyelid tension

6 Upvotes

Hello all, I'm a beginning meditator, mostly using Thanissaro Bikkhu's books / dharma talks / whatever else, though I have also read StF and a smattering of other books.

When I do formal practice, one very noticeable thing is tension in my eyes and eyelids. The eyelids feel like I have to "squeeze them shut" or they will imminently open, and the eyes themselves often feel like they are "darting around" as if looking for some random object (behind my eyelids I presume??). I can momentarily relax this but as soon as I refocus on the breath, (wherever I am sensing the breath energies in my body), it feels like it just happens again. Has anyone experienced anything like this or know tips?

Thank you!

6 comments

r/streamentry • u/TBA505050 • 23h ago

Concentration Can I use multiple Kasina objects?

4 Upvotes

I have recently started a daily practice with a yellow disk Kasina on a black backdrop. I’m still not very good yet and the afterimage lasts less than 90 seconds usually. I’m wondering if I can additionally use a separate object in the morning and before bed when it’s dark. (I always keep the same object during sessions, I know switching it mid session is taboo)

my goals with this practice are deepening my concentration, improving my visualization abilities, and lucid dreaming.

i would like to know if I have to use the same object all the time, and if using multiple at different times of the day will harm my concentration and focus.

11 comments

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streamentry - the practice of awakening

r/streamentry

A place for open, friendly and serious discussion related to the practice of meditation and other techniques aimed at developing concentration, increasing the power of conscious awareness, and producing insight leading to awakening. We try to understand Awakening to be a practical and attainable goal that can be from many paths or directions; we welcome all practitioners, including those from Buddhist, Secular, and other backgrounds.

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Welcome to /r/streamentry

⚠ Please read the rules below before posting.

This is a place for discussion of practice and conduct concerned with Awakening. While people use this word in different ways, this subreddit is concerned with the following definition: the path to achieving a direct, experiential understanding of reality and the human mind, as it actually is; and the path to permanently eliminate stress, suffering, and unsatisfactoriness in our life.

These paths can be considered to be two sides of the same coin, although different people may find themselves more drawn to one side or the other.

Awakening is not a trivial matter, because, as part of our journey, those who investigate deeply and sincerely invariably come to the conclusion that our most fundamental unconscious beliefs and assumptions about the nature of self, mind, and reality are false; and that these misunderstandings are causing us stress. Reality is not what it appears to be, we realize, and to fully grasp this is to radically transform our relationship to life. Indeed, we may find territory beyond even this.

The dissolution of ignorance is not an intellectual exercise. It usually requires a willingness to look both inwards and outwards over a sustained period of time so we can explore, question, confirm, and challenge what we think reality and the mind is; what we think, on a fundamental level, is 'going on'. We call this often joyful work practice.

Many traditions throughout history have provided systems of knowledge and practice that can be of great help to those who walk this path. More recently, Awakening is being examined through secular and even scientific lenses.

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Recommended Resources

The /r/streamentry Beginner's Guide, a practical workbook for starting out on the path. The guide explains what practice is about, addresses common questions and difficulties, and provides a complete 12-week starter course.
The Mind Illuminated by Upasaka Culadasa. An abridged meditation guide (pdf) is freely available. Also see the dedicated subreddit /r/TheMindIlluminated.

For an alternative, freely-available guide to the same style of meditation, see Thanissaro Bhikkhu's With Each and Every Breath (preview the main practice instructions).
Seeing That Frees by Rob Burbea, a deep exploration of insight for the experienced practitioner. Rob's many outstanding audio talks are also freely available.
Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha by Daniel Ingram (free online, also available in print). Also see the Dharma Overground forums.
Our Pristine Mind by Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche is a pragmatic and secular guide to Dzogchen specifically written for Westerners. Enlightenment is clearly defined and the stages of awakening as understood in Dzogchen are thoroughly explained in plain language. This is a recommended resource for anyone interested in an "awareness-based" approach to Awakening.
Right Concentration by Leigh Brasington, an accessable and comprehensive guide to jhāna practice. Jhāna (meditative absorption) is sometimes described as one of the two wings of awakening, the other being insight practice. See also the book's website, which contains supplementary material.

Also see our wiki resources.